You're All A Bunch Of Riff Raff
by OurDaleyBread
Summary: Street rats.    Summary inside.  Own nothing, of course.  Zutara, Tokka.  Slight AU.


_Second attempt at fanfiction..on this account. The earlier fan fic I wrote (and Deleted) will be re-written. It was a rough draft..so to speak. This takes from Aladdin, the Original Series (though there is very little that goes according to the Word Of God {aka. the creators}) and my screwed up imagination. Oh, and Interpol lyrics (I made you, and now I take you back. FTW, Ozai written all over it, right? I mean it's about a guy with FULL INTENT of killing his son:) it's a depressing disturbing thing BUT IT'S AWESOMELY FITTING) Okay, I'll start for rizzle writing now. Aang is not the avatar. The Avatar does not necessarily exist..I think. He's just a powerful Airbender. Zuko's back story is so damn confusing, that I'm not saying it up here! It'll come out..eventually. Basically the Gaang is a bunch of orphan's who ended up living in a ware house in Ba Sing Se. Momo and Appa are kept because of their sheer furry adorable-ness._

_One jump ahead of the breadline_

_One swing ahead of the sword_

_I steal only what I can't afford_

_( That's Everything! )_

_~Aladdin, One Jump Ahead (Street Rat)_

_"Thiefs!" _The city guards screamed, desperately trying to keep up with the agile youth. What they didn't know was that Sokka, Toph, and Katara had been running for years. It was almost too easy to get away now.

Sokka held onto the bread like his life depended on it; it really did, in a way. His sister ran beneath him, carrying a basket of fruit in one hand, leading their blind companion with another. He chuckled; she always insisted on protecting Toph, though she was perfectly capable of fending for herself, not to mention a powerful earthbender. That's just how Katara was; the mother they'd all been deprived of.

Sokka jumped from roof to roof; he'd had years of practice, and had this down to an art form. _And..jump! _Timing his movements perfectly, he slid down onto a tarp, landing gracefully in front of a group of young girls. "Hello, ladies!" he drawled, girl crazy and hormonal as ever; he was a hopeless case, according to Aang...and everyone else.

"There he is!" the city guards bellowed, rushing towards him full speed, swords and spears extended.

"I'll be in touch!" he yelped as he ran. It was too late; he'd taken one millisecond too long, and the guards had been able to corner him. His friends were far gone, probably back to the warehouse already. _Gulp._

"If it's not our favorite street rat," one of the guards growled, touching frightened boy's throat with the _very, very_ sharp tip of his sword. "Hm, what should we do with him boys? We've been trying to catch this one for so long," the guard paused, smiling with a crazed look in his eye. "I think we can get along guys! I mean a guy's gotta' eat, isn't that right tubs?" he remarked, trying to stall with his smart alec comments. _C'mon, someone save me.. _"Why you disrespectful little...AH! Get this blasted creature off of me you idiots!" the guard yowled as the tiny lemur-bat attacked him, scratching and screeching with all his might.

"My hero," Sokka murmured; Momo had done his job, swooping in just in time, giving Sokka a chance to escape. He sprinted away, getting an unsteady grip on the top of a cabbage cart. He used it as a platform, ignoring the merchant's enraged screeching, going from there to the wall of the nearest building. "Momo, c'mon!" he yowled from his awkward position, scrabbling for a hold as he climbed onto the final stretch of roof tops. The obedient creature flew to his shoulder, hanging on tight as he soared through the air, depending on luck to make it.

With a sigh, he jumped down onto the cobblestones. It was safe to walk from here on out; nobody had been in this part of Ba Sing Se for years. "Thanks again, Momo. You always come through for me, buddy," he said, looking straight at the lemur, like he was carrying out a conversation with someone who could actually understand him. The animal chattered in response, causing Sokka to chuckle.

"Sokka you made it!" Toph screeched, hurling herself at the boy.

"Oof! Get off!" he yelped, almost tipping over at her weight. For a thirteen year old, and a tiny one at that, she was pretty strong.

"Toph's trying to say she missed you!" Katara teased, fluttering her eye lashes, adding a kissy face for dramatic affect.

"Shut up!" they chimed in unison; of course, this only made it worse.

"See, look, you even say the same things at exactly the same time!" she said, talking like it was fate.

_Idiot. _Sokka thought, rolling his eyes on the outside. Despite his denial, he still felt tale tale heat creeping into his cheeks when his sister teased them. He just hoped it didn't show. Of course, about everything Sokka tried to hide became glaringly obvious. So it was best he just disregard it and move on.

"Where are Aang and Zuko?" he asked casually, plopping down on the floor. He glanced around the warehouse; the same as when he left it. Hay scattered on the floor, blankets in their respective corners, and the meager scrapings they called a 'food pile'. He reached for an apple, but Katara slapped his hand away.

"You know we don't eat until everyone's back!" she snapped, polishing the apple on her dress and putting it back in the pile.

"I ran from a bunch of knuckle heads for the better part of my day! I deserve a reward!" he protested, putting on his best puppy dog eyes and pout.

His sister just sighed; he could tell she had something on her mind. "Zuko and Aang should be back by now..," she mumbled absent mindedly, ignoring Sokka's pleading.

"We're home!" Aang yowled, his alarmingly high pitched voice causing Sokka to pull out his boomerang.

"Oh, it's just you guys. So whatcha' got?" he said, strolling nonchalantly over to his friends and examining what they'd brought back. "A loaf of bread, a fish, and an APPLE? Oh tonight we eat like kings!" he exclaimed, tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Hush! All you brought back was a loaf of bread!" Katara hissed, punching him in the arm. "I think you guys did great!" she chirped happily, looking from Zuko to Aang.

It might have just been hunger induced hallucinations, but Sokka could've sworn her eyes lingered on Zuko for a few seconds too long..

"Besides, what's our motto?" Zuko said, trying to sound cheerful and optimistic.

"Run like Hell if you wanna' eat?" Toph contributed.

"Sokka you idiot, you almost got us killed!" Aang said, causing sokka to pout.

"Gotta' eat to live, gotta steal to eat?" Sokka guessed.

"No!" Katara said dissapointedly. She sighed,"When all you have is nothing-"

"There's a lot to go around." the rest of the Gaang finished, their voices lacking enthusiasm.

"Hopeless," Zuko muttered, evenly dividing the food, leaving some for Appa and Momo. "The only reason that foods been so hard to find is because of those blasted War Rationing laws they passed!" he complained, clearly aggravated.

"I've told you again and again, we need to take ACTION!" Toph exclaimed, holding her tiny fist in the air, shaking it for emphasis. "The Fire Nation already destroyed our homes and families, are we going to let them starve us too?"

"The Fire Nation isn't nearly as bad as you hype it up to be!" Zuko yelled defensively; he was the only one without bitter hatred towards the Fire Nation, mainly because of his bending, and the fact that it was his home land.

"Dude, the whole reason we're struggling to survive is because of your precious home land! You, basically, said so yourself!" Sokka argued, jabbing an accusing finger at the fire bender. "How do you know it's that great? You can barely remember your parents, and you're only fifty percent sure you have a sister! Your first memory is being put in the cargo section of a ship! Can it possibly be that wonderful?"

"I know that the Fire Nation is a beautiful place. I remember my home being almost like a palace; it was perfect!" the older boy said defensively, desperately defending his beloved nation. "Besides, how wonderful can your precious South Pole be? With all it's ice and water and..fish!"

"I'll show you how we do it in the South Pole!" the other boy growled, standing up.

"Hey! Break it up ladies!" Toph said, pushing herself between the quarreling teenagers, "In other news, that Sparky will find particularly interesting, the Royal Family is going to be in town tomorrow night. The only good part is that their's going to be a festival; it'll be fun!"

"I don't know if it's a good idea to go..with all the soldiers and.." Katara stopped, unable to find another excuse. _It would be a nice change, to get out and have fun.. _

"Please Katara!" Aang, Sokka (momentarily distracted from his arguement with Zuko), and Toph pleaded, putting on their best pitiful 'I'll never ask for another thing in my life' faces.

"Fine. But if any of you," she stopped and glared at Sokka and Zuko for emphasis, "start anything, we are leaving!"

"Woopee!" the entire group rejoiced; Sokka throwing bread crumbs in the air, which served as some sort of confetti.

Zuko didn't join in the festivities. Instead, he pinched the bridge of his nose, still calming himself; Sokka's searing remarks against his home land really got to him. _They took your family away from you! _He knew he should resent the Fire Nation, just like everyone else- but his loyalty was too strong to be shaken. Well, that combined with his stubborn tendencies.

"You guys, take the plates outside and wash them. Don't be long; after Sokka's little stunt today, we need to be extra cautious," she warned, glaring dissaprovingly at her brother. He grumbled something incoherent as he herded his younger companions out the door.

"I apologize for Sokka..he didn't mean it. He's just bitter because of what happened to our parents," the waterbender explained, taking a seat next to Zuko.

"Part of me feels like I should hate them; but part of me wants to defend my home land. The people aren't wonderful, that's for sure. But the place itself is beautiful.." he murmured, a far off look in his eyes.

"I'd feel the same if I was in your position. It's not your fault that you're loyal; and stubborn," she added; for a minute, he'd thought she was actually sympathetic.

He turned away, so she couldn't look into his eyes. "You're just like your brother..you don't understand. I feel like I'm tied to the Fire Nation by more than just stubbornness, pride or loyalty..like I'm tied to it by, _blood_," he mumbled the last part, knowing he sounded eccentric.

"_Blood? _Well your family was Fire Nation..but you sound like you mean noble blood, not just blood. Do you think you were from a prominent family or something?" she asked, genuinely curious now. Does he think he's related to the Fire Lord or something? That'd be a reason for him not to be excited about the festival..

"All I have to show my heritage is my bending, my pride, and this scar, so for all I know, I could be a peasant, or a prince!" he said, gesturing towards the burnt half of his face.

"So you're saying, for all you know, you're the Fire Lord's son? Ha, fat chance. And I'm the Princess of the Southern Water Tribe!" she teased, uncharacteristically sarcastic.

"Forget it. Can't talk to any of you without being criticized..," he mumbled, his voice getting quieter as he went on.

"Now you're just pitying yourself; as usual," the waterbender snapped, annoyed now,"You can't take a joke. You're so melodramatic sometimes!"

_Good job idiot. She was just talking to you- while you were ALONE. TOGETHER. And you blew it._ He sighed, a strand of his unkempt hair blowing into his face. He needed to ask Sokka how talking to 'the ladies' came so naturally to him- it seemed almost _easy _when he did it.

As the waterbender stalked away, Zuko promised himself he'd try harder next time to stay on her good side. Which, according to Sokka, is not an easy task.

_Staying on Katara's good side is like trying to walk on air. Not an easy task; trust me, I've tried both._

_-Sokka_


End file.
